Tara Murray
A Brimbank young carer wants to make an impact and help get the message out there that more support is needed.
Aristea Havelas, who has helped care for her brother Kon for as long as she remembers, has been named an 2021 Young Carer Ambassador for Victoria.
The ambassadors come from the Young Carer Advocacy Project (YCAP), an initiative designed to advocate for the rights and lives of young carers in Australia.
As part of this project, Little Dreamers Australia, which supports young people supporting a family member affected by disability or chronic or mental illness, selected a handful of Young Carer Ambassadors to represent young carers nationwide.
Ms Havelas said it was an honour to be selected as an ambassador for the project.
“My mum had seen an email from Little Dreamers about them looking to have focus groups,” she said.
“They wanted to hear about young carers and the experiences of carers in Australia. They wanted to know how it defines you and how not to let it define you.
“They had a number of workshops.”
Together, the group has released a report which they will present to the federal government, the YCAP 2021 Recommendations report.
The report endeavours to celebrate young carers nationwide, further mitigate challenges faced by many young carers and better establish programs and government support for young carers.
Ms Havelas said she was passionate about educating and helping people within the local community.
At the most recent council meeting, former Mayor Ranka Rasic said during question time that the council supports just 10 young carers.
“There are more young carers than that in Brimbank, which I could count,” she said.
“The voices aren’t heard out in the council. I’m trying to advocate why it needs to be spoken about more than it is.
“I want to bring awareness to Brimbank, I want to shine what it means to me.”
